The Casavant Pipe Organ at Centennial United Church
By Ron McCormick and Murray Strome
Centennial United is blessed with a beautiful pipe organ, originally built in 1910 by Casavant Frères, Hyacinthe Québec. It has been augmented over the years with several additions:
- The wind source was changed from a manually powered blower to one operated by an electrical motor. This was replaced by an improved one in 1974.
- Grant Smalley added several additional pipes at the sides of the organ in 1993.
- In 2000, the original bellows were replaced with a two section unit to provide more wind capacity and better control.
- In 2002, Centennial purchased the trumpet and trombone pipes from Christ Church Cathedral. These were modified by Mr. Smalley to match the pressure of our system, and were installed by him in January 2003.
The pipes that are visible form the facade that hides most of the pipes. Most of these are active, but some are purely decorative. The various lengths of the pipes determine the pitch (high or low) of the sound – long pipes produce low pitched sounds and shorter ones higher pitch.
The scale model of the Church at the front was built and donated by Gordon Hatch for our Centennial in 1985.
The console consists of three manuals (or keyboards): the lower one controls the Choir/Positif section, the centre controls the Great/Main, and the upper, the Swell section. The latter is enclosed in a box with shutters which can be opened and closed from the console position for increasing or decreasing the sound levels. The round white buttons (stops) on either side of the manuals control the various ranks of pipes, each of which has 61 except for the pedals located just above the floor, which has 32. They are divided into the sections of the organ. There are 30 ranks: five in the Choir/Positif; seven in the Great, 11 in the Swell; and seven in the Pedals (making a total of 30)
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The stops on the left control which pipes are connected to the Pedals, and which control the Swell organ. Those on the right control the Great and Choir/Positif organs. The white levers above the keyboards control a series of couplers which can be used to combine sections to produce a fuller sound with more brilliance. The round buttons below each manual and above the pedals are the pistons, which facilitate the combinations of different sounds.
The three large pedals control the opening and closing of different sections of the organ. The keys, stops, pistons, pedals, couplers, etc., all control electrical signals which actuate magnetic contacts, which in turn open and close valves to direct the pressurized air to the various pipes.
Most of the pipes themselves are located behind the visible ones, and are made of round metal or square wooden tubes whose length controls their pitch (i.e., the note which is played). Longer pipes produce a lower pitch, while the shorter ones create the higher notes. Some simply have an aperture, called the mouth, near the bottom which causes the pipe to act much like a simple whistle, while others have reeds which vibrate and produce a more penetrating sound (e.g., a trumpet). The choice of material, the shape, whether it is open or closed at the top and whether it contains a reed or not, controls the character of the sound produced.
The air pump, known as the blower, produces the pressure to operate the organ, including the sound produced. It is located in a box in the Round Room beneath the choir loft. A large pipe feeds the air to the large bellows located behind the choir. These are essential to provide a steady pressure to the system. Recently, a single very large reservoir was replaced by two smaller ones. The original had to be sawn into pieces in order to remove it, since it was so large. In the photograph on the next page, you can see the concrete slabs which rest on the top plate. These, coupled with very large springs at the corners maintain the wind pressure required to operate the sound portion of the organ.
The Choir/Positif section is just behind the visible pipes on the right hand side, as viewed from the sanctuary. The metal pipes and a few of the smaller wooden ones are closest to the facade, while the larger wooden Bourdon pipes are situated behind the Great. Notice the knobs especially visible at the tops of the Bourdons. These are adjusted individually about twice per year to bring the organ into tune, just as a piano needs regular tuning and maintenance.
The Great Organ is situated in the centre of the organ chamber. The pipes in this section are the diapason chorus, or the foundation of the organ's tonal quality. The metal pipes are closest to the large ones we see from the sanctuary, while the wooden ones line the wall further back. The Swell Organ is completely contained within a large wooden box (with no lights) so we could not get a photograph of it. The front of the box, which is like a cube three meters on each side, is made up of vertical shutters about 15cm wide. These rotate in order to open or close the shutters. This system is controlled from the console and changes both the volume and quality of the sound from this section.
The newest addition to the system are the Trumpet and Trombone ranks in the pedal section. These are located outside of the chamber along the wall behind the bellows. They provide that especially strong, rich and deep bass character which you may have noticed since they were installed.
While the pipe organ is the primary musical instrument at Centennial, we also have a Grand Piano and a Wurlitzer organ, which was donated to us by Robert Neufeld. It is a high quality electronic organ, and is often used to provide music before the beginning of the service.
Some photos of the "works behind the scenes" are shown on the left.